Premier League Preview: Top of the table Clash of the Titans headlines this weekend’s action

We are now living in a constant state of football. Whether it be the FA Cup, the Champions League or the brilliantly relentless supply of Premier League action, the games are ramping up thick and fast as the campaign nears its conclusion. Oftentimes in years gone by, there has been little jeopardy at the top of the Premier League, with Manchester City frequently dominating the division, by this point comfortably clear and galloping toward another title.

This year, though, the landscape is different and there are not one but two genuine title challengers still in the picture with just ten games left to play. City are joined by Liverpool and Arsenal at the summit of the Premier League and this weekend the reigning champions travel to Anfield to take on Jurgen Klopp’s current leaders in Gameweek 28’s blockbuster bonanza.

Sunday’s clash – which kicks off at 3.45pm – could play a major role in deciding who wins this season’s title, with Arsenal in action on Saturday when they welcome Brentford to the Emirates in a game you would fancy the Gunners to emerge from unscathed.

Just a solitary point separates second-placed City with first-placed Liverpool heading into this weekend’s showdown, meaning a win for Pep Guardiola’s men would see them top the table on Sunday evening irrespective of Arsenal’s result a day before. Liverpool, meanwhile, could retain their stance as top-flight leaders with a victory on home turf and distance the gap between themselves and City to four points, whilst pulling five points clear of the Gunners if Mikel Arteta’s side lose to Brentford, or two points should Arsenal beat the Bees.

One major determining factor which will influence this Sunday’s match is the fitness of Mohamed Salah. The Liverpool star has been sidelined with an injury and has only played 61 minutes for the Reds since New Years Day following his involvement at the Africa Cup of Nations, where he picked up his hamstring complaint. He missed the EFL Cup final win over Chelsea in February but has returned to training this week, with his involvement against City looking promising.

Should Salah feature at Anfield this weekend, it goes without saying how much improvement that provides this relatively inexperienced Liverpool team. The Egyptian has netted 15 goals and laid off nine assists in the Premier League so far this term and ranks top of the pile for overall “big chances created” in the top tier. While Liverpool’s youngsters have done much of the heavy lifting in recent weeks due to an unprecedented and extremely unfortunate injury crisis, beating teams of Manchester City’s calibre requires your best players on the pitch and Salah is certainly the main man in Merseyside.

Salah featured for all of 16 minutes as Liverpool thumped Sparta Prague 5-1 in the Europa League on Thursday evening, coming off the bench to score a goal which was dubiously ruled out for offside. The 31-year-old looks primed to return on Sunday, handing the hosts a huge boost ahead of this super-heavyweight bout.

City enter this match-up on the back of another impressive performance in last Sunday’s Manchester Derby, where a Phil Foden brace helped them to a 3-1 win at the Etihad and extended their unbeaten run in the league to 12 games. A customary 3-1 win over Copenhagen in the Champions League on Wednesday means that Guardiola’s goliaths will yet again be present in the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite knockout competition this season and are unsurprisingly favourites to win the competition again, while Liverpool’s chances of winning this season’s Europa League were handed a boost thanks to that resounding victory in the Czech Republic.

With both of these teams in scintillating form, Sunday’s battle of the ages brings with it plenty of excitement. This time next week the picture at the top of the Premier League could, and most likely will, look a lot clearer.

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